So, in a recent conversation with my dad about hunting and how difficult it will be to find a place to hunt in moderately-populated central Massachusetts, he informed me that he owns 41 acres of undeveloped woods only about 2 miles from where I live. Who knew? The past few Saturdays have resulted in me and a few people, namely my neighbor Bill (from the Mt. Monadnock hike) and Mark (from several hikes) doing some scouting and reconnaissance missions on the land. This past Saturday of the 3-day Columbus Day weekend, the three of us along with Bill's son Harry spent a good portion of the afternoon creating a campsite. We found a nice knoll a short walk into the woods that is now comprised of a cleared trail to the site, three tent sites, and a rock fire pit. After finishing the fire pit and getting a gorgeous fire going, we cooked lunch (hot dogs and beans) over the open flames and enjoyed a few adult beverages. Later that day we took an hour-long stroll through the woods, and discovered a never-ending network of stone walls, a creek, and (lucky for those of us who plan on hunting the land this season) nine turkeys and two deer. Who knows how long the land has been untouched, but we found several game trails and other evidence that this place is a veritable game reserve. The 41 acres is surrounded in the back by more undeveloped woodland that stretches back for many miles, which for this part of the country is pretty impressive. What excites me the most about this piece of land is not the endless hunting possibilities, but the opportunity I will have the indoctrinate my son into woodsy, outdoorsy activities. The land we own and that which lies beyond is so vast that we can hunt, hike, and camp as often as we want, and it's no more than two or three miles from where we live. What will soon be afternoons spent hiking the woods with my son will be the seed that grows into week-long backpacking adventures through Wyoming, Montana, and Colorado (or so I hope).

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I'm just a guy who loves to hike, fish, hunt, camp, and snowmobile, preferably with my wife Brooke and our three kids, Hunter, Max & Shea. I play the part of a lawyer during the week and try to get outside and get dirty on the weekends.